Blow to Sir Keir Starmer as shock poll of Labour voters reveals he’s not hard enough on immigration

LABOUR voters see themselves as more hardline on immigration than Sir Keir Starmer, polling reveals.

More than 1,000 supporters were asked to place themselves on a spectrum, with 0 being immigration should be significantly reduced and 100 being significantly increased.

Some 57 per cent of Labour voters gave an answer of lower than 50, meaning they think immigration should be reduced, while just 27 per cent thought levels should be increased.

On average Labour voters placed themselves at 37 out of 100, to the right of where they placed Sir Keir’s position, on 43 out of 100.

It piles pressure on Sir Keir to curb immigration, with figures this week showing arrivals are due to fall from record highs.

The JL Partners poll for Arden Strategies also show that a quarter of Labour voters would consider voting for Nigel Farage’s Reform Party.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has vowed to boot out more than 14,000 illegal immigrants in the next six months.

She has tasked Home Office officials with kicking out more within the next six months than at any point since 2018.

The highest number of deportations in that time was 14,389 in the second half of 2023, when the Tories were in power.

Labour’s new plans include deploying 100 more National Crime Agency operatives to bust people-smuggling gangs.

An extra 290 beds will also be found at two immigration removal centres — near Oxford and Gosport, Hants.